Good neighbors

I was saddened to read about the problems that some neighbors have with St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center's planned expansion. The parking structure will not add congestion; it will help the flow of traffic.

St. Lawrence is my church home; I have been a part of the permanent community there since 1993. Upon reading the remarks of neighbors opposing the expansion, I couldn't help but think about the bigger picture:

St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center fosters the spiritual and individual growth of the Catholic students it serves. These students are part of the Lawrence community for four years; sometimes longer if they settle here. While a part of the St. Lawrence community, the same students serve the larger LAWRENCE community by serving at the LINK kitchen, visiting residents at nursing homes, helping stock Eckan's cupboards. They are, simply put, TRULY good neighbors. (Do any of you have a relative at Brandon Woods? Perhaps a St. Lawrence student has taken the time to visit them.)

Most of us don't expect to ever be in the position to have to ask others for help. I certainly didn't. With no family nearby, my husband battled (and lost to) cancer while our three sons were very young. It was a tremendously difficult time, and it would have been more devastating had it not been for the countless hours that students from St. Lawrence (most of whom we had not previously met) volunteered to drive my husband to doctor's visits, play big brother/big sister to our children, clean and do maintenance at our home and bring meals on a regular basis. I will say it again: they are TRULY good neighbors; ones I certainly didn't mind having.